Excellent Dog Training/Human Training Book
Life Lessons Taught By Dogs
Two of our regular racers at the Siskiyou Sled Dog Races have a new book out. I highly recomend it to dog and non dog owners. it is full of the lessons that dogs can teach us. I believe in everything in the book. Many thoughts that I have had, it is just that they have broken down the lessons and made them so easy to understand. The book is called, ” Be the Lead Dog, 7 Life Changing lessons Taught By Sled Dogs”. These lessons cover focus, patience,trust, transparency, drive, self-assurance, and perserverance.
Liz Parrish and Barbara Schaefer have tapped on to something beautiful. Success speakers rant at how helpful this book can be for anyone, not just dog lovers. They also do insperational speaking engagements. To contact them to speak to your company, group, or want to order your book, e-mail contact@LifeThroughDogs.com Or go to www.LifeThroughDogs.com
Categories: Dog Blogs | 
Tags: | 
No Comments »
Dog Conditioning and Trust
Lesson #2…… Keep it fun
When I started training our sled dogs to race, I would hook up the dogs and run them, bring them home panting and tired, thinking we had a good run. Wrong!
After a couple of seasons of not reaching the finish line at distance races, I sarted to re-evaluate my thinking. If I am trying to build a team that won’t loose their confidence then why am I running them until they are tired. Why not run them slower and bring them in happy and ready to run again. Slowly, I saw their trust level build and their desire to go further increase. They looked more excited and ready to go, even though it could be an above average warm day.
They learned that I would not ask them to do more than they were able, and I wasn’t going ask them to go further than they are able. It was then that the bond that is needed for a distance musher to succeed, is created. It is slowly from that bond that the most important connection that man and canine can form to produce their goals,…………………………………….TRUST
It was that season that I finally turned it around. After two years of not finishing with my alaskan huskies, we went on to finishes at Oregon’s Atta Boy 300 and Montana’s difficult Iditarod Qualifying Race, Race to the Sky 350. We were the first team from California to complete the Race to the Sky, taking 14th place of 28 teams!
Build the trust first and the rest will begin to fall into place in whatever your goals are for you and your canine buddy.
Next blog. Different tools to use to get your dog into condition.
Categories: Dog Blogs, Training | Tags: | 1 Comment »
Dog Training and Conditioning
Recently Arleigh Reynolds, (the top ranked team in the open dog sprints) internationally know as one of the top experts on dog training and nutrition was here visiting in northern CA and stayed for a couple of days with us. During one of our many dog discusions Arleigh mentioned that he talks at many conventions around the country and some of them are bird dog venues. He commented on the amazing level of retrieving skills and overall learning abilities of the breeds. What suprised me was that he also stated that even though they were in condition to do their jobs, many of the dogs were what us mushers would say, are overweight.
At one of the field trials Arleigh observed an excellent looking dog pulled up lame and couldn’t complete the day due his injury. Arleigh asked him about the dog’s overall conditioning program and the trainer basically acknowledged that the conditioning was done while it did his retrieving training. After some encouragment, Arleigh convinced the dog owner to put the dog on a year round conditioning program. A year plus later, he got a call from the dog owner stating that he had cleaned up on the compitition and the dog showed no signs of the injury from the previous season.
The next couple of dog blogs will be about dog conditioning. Some about mistakes that I have made and things that I have found worked for us. Many of the lessons will be of those that I have learned from renound well know mushers with alot more experience than I. I believe that the blogs will help you and your dog reach the goals that you percieve for your canine freind.
- Lesson # 1. Never ask your dog to do something in competition that you haven’t practised before while training.
Stay tuned for more conditioning tips to come. The advise won’t just include the physical end of the training, but also the mental side of fine tuning your canine athelete.
DOg Training
Categories: Dog Blogs, Training | Tags: | No Comments »
Dogsled Express, Closed For the Season
We still have 3 to 6 feet of snow, so why are we shutting down for the season? How can that be? We are actually getting more snow today! The problem is that when the warm weather has been melting the snow off unevenly on the trail. The reflection on the mountain side of the trail is melting the snow off 4 times as fast as the outside of the trail, leaving a steep pitch which makes the sled want to slide towards the tree wells.(deep holes that melt out around the base of trees) Dogsled Express has never had an injury accident in over 15 years of service and one of the reasons is that we don’t push the envelope when it comes to your safety. We hope you will understand.
This will allow me to start writing more fun blogs about this last season, the dogs and insights on living with sled dogs. I am getting a file ready of dog songs and do features on the super dogs from our kennel.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful people that took a tour with Dogsled Express this past season. We had many repeat customers and numerous tours where people went home and told there freinds and they in turn went and told their freinds. (The best advertising of all.)
The calendar and reservation system really worked well and are always listening to your suggestions to make it more client freindly.
I will be taking a week off from running the dogs and will then start training the pups and new leaders for next season. We will have another 20 dogs trained for next year so we can have more fresh dogs and will be able scedule more trips, especially during the high demand periods.
Lisa, the dogs and I once again, thank you all for your patronage wish that you and yours have a prosperous and healthy summer.
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | No Comments »
A Happy Easter Greeting From Bunnies – Doggie Style!
A Blessed and Happy Easter to all. It is snowing at home and dumping another foot at our trailhead. Sunny weather and fresh snowy trails for your spring tour. Click Easter Bunnies for stunning photos! Easterbunnies
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | 1 Comment »
Dogsled Express Sled Dog Tours Still Open For Business
It’s Friday the 2nd of April. Guess what? We are still available for tours. The short rides aren’t available due to tree wells mentling out into the trail. It is snowy like crazy today and just talked to freinds at the ski park and we have 5 inches of fresh snow, noon. and we are expecting a total of 12 inches!. I will be at the trailhead tommorrow morning at daylight to groom the trail. We will be in operation through April 11th for sure and maybe beyond. Why wait till next season. Give us a call and have a memory for a lifetime.
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | No Comments »
Dogsled Express Spring Dogsled Tours
We still have 3 to 5 feet of snow! We have the best spring mushing conditions that I have ever seen in the twenty years that I have been into the sport. The warmth will probably shut us down before we run out of snow. So come out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. We will be in operation through April 15 th and maybe beyond. At some point we will discontinue the 2pm rides, but will still be offering 3 sled tours a day during the 9am and 11:30 am time slots. Please check out the calendar on the resevation page for available tours. Check out the pictures on the home page for the snow condtions from the week of Saint Patrick’s Day. Hope to hear from you.
March mushing with Dogsled Express
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | No Comments »
Kennel Cleaning or the Art of Scooping Poop!
This is a light hearted blog about the ongoing effort to keeping it interesting while you go through the daily routine of scooping poop for a large kennel. Continue Reading »Kennel Cleaning or the Art of Scooping Poop!
Categories: Dog Blogs, Dog Care | Tags: | 2 Comments »
Dogsled Express Tour Photos
Love those fancy mittons. Look for more photos like this one of Penelope cheerleading the dogs prior to her tour with Grampa Jerry, on the newest addition to our website. Click on the Tour Photos to see the latest snow and trail conditions and pictures of happy dogs at work and people at play. The fresh snow pictures were just a week ago! Continue Reading »Dogsled Express Tour Photos
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | No Comments »
Valentine’s Day Romantic Dogsled Ride
My first dog team/ old friends gone by
You know what the experts say. To create excitment towards an evening of romance is not to take them to a movie (boring) but to start the date on a roller coaster! Continue Reading »Valentine’s Day Romantic Dogsled Ride
Categories: Dog Blogs | Tags: | 1 Comment »